The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

Loading ...

Loading ...

This story appears in the {{article.article.magazine.pretty_date}} issue of {{article.article.magazine.pubName}}. Subscribe

Rebecca Black has a hit song. The 13-year-old singer’s video for her song “Friday,” which has quickly become the fascination of the Internet, is a smashing success despite the fact that it owes its meteoric rise to, well, mediocrity. Put more bluntly, the video has become the laughingstock of millions, who have latched on to its simplistic lyrics and low-price polish to push it into the public consciousness. Despite the movement's dubious beginnings, though, Black may be the one laughing now.

The "Friday" video -- which was uploaded to YouTube on February 10th -- didn’t get much traction until early last week, when it suddenly caught a web tailwind. Black’s name trended on twitter and the video spiraled to go viral. It now has over 30 million views.

So is it true that any press is good press? For the young singer, who has appeared gracious and composed in her few media appearances, that axiom seems to hold true. And her decision to keep the video online, despite being given the opportunity by the song's producers to take the video down when the comments started to turn nasty, may end up to be a boon to her college fund.

Black’s tune comes courtesy of Ark Music Factory, a so called record label that churns out tween pop for a couple thousand bucks a tune. Co-founded by Patrice Wilson and Clarence Jey, the L.A. based company courts young teenage singers and “signs” them to short, vanity recording projects. Jey reportedly is the lyrical genius behind “Friday.” According to The Daily Beast, Black’s mother forked over $2,000 for two songs written by Ark Music Factory’s team and one video, the now infamous "Friday."

It would seem that the investment paid off, many times over. Although the YouTube/Google party line on video ad revenue is vague (“There are no guarantees under the YouTube Partner agreement about how much you will be paid.”) some digging turns up speculation on potential profits. TechCrunch’s Erick Schonfeld reported today on Google and YouTube's revenue figures. Looking at 2010’s actual numbers, the site makes about $1 per thousand page views. For videos running ads as part of the revenue sharing program, that revenue is then split between YouTube and the content creator. Content creators, or partners, take 68% of the profit. At 30,000,000 views, that lands Black and Ark Music Factory $20,000 – a 1000% return on investment. That number matches the figure reported by Damian Kulash Jr., the lead singer of indie pop band OK Go, who have made a name for themselves via viral videos.

The revenue doesn't stop there, though. Where Google has had a notoriously tough time monetizing YouTube content, Apple's iTunes has had significantly fewer problems. Since hitting the online music store last Monday, "Friday" has amassed a staggering number of downloads, reportedly topping 2 million; the song currently sits at #45 on the iTunes Top Singles chart. According to 101 Distribution, an independent music distributor, iTunes pays out $.70 per single download in the United States. That’s a much juicier check for Black and Ark Music Factory; even if the numbers are exaggerated, the intake from “Friday” could top $1 million. What's more, Black is planning to release an acoustic version of the song to disprove speculation that her voice is reliant on AutoTune. Cha-ching! Updated 3/23: The original estimate of 2 million, taken from Black's interview on Good Morning America, seems to have been referring to video views rather than digital downloads. Billboard is reporting the song's sales to be 37,000 in its first week.

According to The Daily Beast, Black plans to donate a portion of her profits to “Japan relief organizations and school arts programs.”

Like it or not, there’s probably more to come from Rebecca Black and Ark Music Factory. As I type, another Ark Music product, Alana Lee, is racking up views by the tens of thousands on her video “Butterflies,” likely basking in the afterglow of Rebecca Black. Fun, fun, fun indeed.